1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to oral care products and, more particularly, to orally chewable, enzymatically coated products which, upon chewing, produce an anti-bacterial and bacteriostatic effect in the oral cavity by activation of an enzymatic system contained within the coating. 2. Prior Art
It is disclosed in the prior art that enzymatic anti-bacterial systems can be incorporated into oral care products and other products such as powder milk (U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,190)and bandages (U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,817) for producing an anti-bacterial effect in a defined environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,113 (Hoogendoorn et al., 1979) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,362 (Hoogendoorn et al., 1979) disclose, respectively, an enzymatic toothpaste and an enzymatic chewable dentifrice containing glucose oxidase which acts on glucose present in saliva and tooth plaque to produce hydrogen peroxide. The patentees note that oral bacterial, through enzyme systems having SH-GROUPS, effect glycolysis of food products containing sugars and point out that lactoperoxidase, which is present in saliva, provides the means for transferring oxygen from hydrogen peroxide to the oral bacteria resulting in the oxidation of the SH-containing enzymes into inactive disulfide enzymes. It is further disclosed that the dentifrice may be formulated with potassium thiocyanate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,822 (Pellico et al., 1981 ) discloses an antiseptic dentifrice containing an oxidizable amino acid substrate and an oxidoreductase enzyme specific to such substrate for producing hydrogen peroxide and ammonia upon oral application of the dentifrice, with pre-application stability being maintained by limiting the quantity of any water present in the dentifrice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,764 (Pellico et al., 1985 ) discloses an enzymatic dentifrice containing Beta-D-Glucose and glucose oxidase for producing hydrogen peroxide upon oral application of the dentifrice, with pre-application stability being maintained by limiting any water in the dentifrice to not more than about 10 wt. % based on the weight of the dentifrice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,365 (Pellico et al., 1986) discloses a di-enzymatic dentifrice which contains, for example, glucose and glucose oxidase for producing hydrogen peroxide upon oral application of the dentifrice and further contains a thiocyanate salt and lactoperoxidase for interacting with hydrogen peroxide to produce a hypothiocyanate ( sic ) with pre-application stability being maintained by limiting any water in the dentifrice to not more than about 10 wt. % based on the weight of the dentifrice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,519 (Pellico et al., 1986)discloses a di-enzymatic chewable dentifrice which contains, for example, glucose and glucose oxidase for producing hydrogen peroxide upon chewing the dentifrice and further contains a thiocyanate salt and lactoperoxidase for interacting with hydrogen peroxide to produce a hypothiocyanate (sic) bacterial inhibitor, with pre-application stability being maintained by limiting any unbound water in the chewable dentifrice to an amount not more than about 1.0 wt. % and limiting the total water, bound and unbound, to not more than about 10 wt. %.
The use of enzymatic anti-bacterial toothpaste having an enzyme system as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,764 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,265 has been expanded to include oral pet care, with emphasis being placed on the use of such toothpaste in the brushing of the teeth of dogs and cats. While this application of enzymatic toothpaste constitutes an improvement in pet care, it has been noted in some cases, that pet owners do not brush their dogs' teeth on a daily basis for a prescribed length of time and, in other cases, it has been noted that some dogs, particularly older dogs, resist the brushing of their teeth. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an anti-bacterial enzymatic deliver system for oral pet care that does not depend upon dental brushing and which is readily accepted as an oral product by the pet.
It is known in the art to convert rawhide, beef hide and the like into various configurations and shapes for use as chewable products by pets, particularly, dogs. It is also known in the art to provide chewable products for pets with coatings which incorporate flavor compositions. The addition of orally actuated, anti-bacterial enzymatic systems to pet chewable products such as rawhide and beef hide would be highly beneficial in that enhanced oral care would be achieved in a simplistic manner with pet receptive products.